Osun Political Leaders Sign Peace Accord Amid Tension, Arrests, Threats and Violence
…APC Governorship Candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, Absent It was a tense Thursday in Osun State. As Secretary to the State Government, Chief Tesleem Igbalaye remained in police detention over alleged...
…APC Governorship Candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, Absent
It was a tense Thursday in Osun State. As Secretary to the State Government, Chief Tesleem Igbalaye remained in police detention over alleged electoral offences; political leaders met with the Peace Committee to sign a pact committing to a peaceful process ahead of the August 15 governorship election. All Progressives Congress candidate Bola Oyebamiji was notably absent.
Governor Ademola Adeleke was direct in expressing his concern at the event, where he detailed alleged intimidation and harassment of Accord Party members by the Nigerian Police. “It is with sadness that I welcome our peace leaders to Osun State. We are saddened because, for the past three months, our people, government, and party members have been under siege and attack.
The National Peace Committee and The Kukah Centre organised the event to secure commitments ahead of the August 15 governorship election. It came a day after a tense INEC stakeholders’ forum in Osogbo, where key political actors clashed.
At a meeting with political stakeholders on Wednesday convened by the Independent National Electoral Commission, supporters of both the Accord Party and the All Progressives Congress nearly clashed, making the event tense, while protesters stationed outside the venue carried placards.
Representatives of the 14 political parties contesting the 2026 governorship election and their candidates attended the Peace Accord signing ceremony. His running mate, Aderemi Adereti, represented the APC candidate. Only one of the 14 candidates is female.
Present at the ceremony were Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party, Action Alliance (AA), African Action Congress (AAC), African Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Democratic Party (ADP), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Action Peoples Party (APP), Boot Party (BP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Young Progressives Party (YPP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
Cardinal John Onaiyekan, who spoke on behalf of the National Peace Committee, reminded political parties that the accord must not be treated as a mere ceremonial exercise. “This signing of the accord is not just a formality, a ritual. It is supposed to mean something serious, and we take this matter seriously,” the cleric said.
He urged candidates, party leaders and supporters to reject violence, inflammatory rhetoric and electoral misconduct that could endanger peace before, during and after the election.
The National Peace Committee delegation at the event included retired Gen. Martins Agwai, representing the Committee’s Chairman, former Head of State Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar; Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto; Cardinal John Onaiyekan; Attah Barkindo; INEC Chairman Joash Amupitan (SAN); and Assistant Inspector-General of Police Olabode Fasuba, representing the Inspector-General of Police.
In his address, the Chairman of INEC, Joash Amupitan, declared that the Peace Accord was far more than a ceremonial event, warning that elections could be compromised long before voting day if political leaders encouraged violence, intimidation or electoral manipulation. The signing represented a solemn commitment before Nigerians and the international community. “This is not a mere administrative ceremony or photo opportunity; it is a moral treaty signed before the citizens of this state and the global community,” Amupitan declared.
He added, “It is not the signatures written today that preserve democracy; it is the character of the leaders who hold the pen. If campaigns are characterised by incitement, private armed squads, or subversion, the process is compromised long before the first ballot is cast.”
The INEC chairman urged all political actors to embrace issue-based campaigns and warned that security agencies and the electoral commission would not tolerate attempts to undermine the election’s integrity.
With barely two weeks to the governorship election, attention is shifting from campaign rhetoric to whether political actors will match their pledges with actions that ensure a peaceful, credible and transparent poll in Osun State. Observers fear the APC candidate’s absence could heighten tension, especially as the Peace Accord has long served as a public commitment by candidates to campaign peacefully, reject violence and respect the outcome of credible elections.
Full Text of Governor Adeleke’s Speech at the event:
THE REASON I AM ATTENDING THIS PEACE MEETING
“It is with sadness that I welcome our peace leaders to Osun State. We are saddened because, for the past three months, our people, government, and party members have been under siege and attack.
“I should have boycotted this peace meeting because of the violence unleashed on Osun State in the last few months, on the directive of Gboyega Oyetola. However, I am here because I have very deep respect for our peace leaders who are present.
“Our gathering is to endorse peace, but my government and people are facing police-sanctioned violence and intimidation. War is being waged actively against my people by Osun APC, openly supported by the Osun state police Command.
I urge our peace leaders to help Osun State stop the progression towards genocide against the Osun people.
“GENOCIDE IS UNFOLDING IN OSUN
“In the last three months, we have lost eight party members with more than 20 injured in gun attacks. There is no single prosecution or active arrest to date. The perpetrators are known Osun APC thugs who committed crimes in the presence of the police. Video evidence is everywhere on the internet.
“Presently, more than 60 Accord members are in police detention without being charged to court. The SSG to the State Government was arrested on trumped-up charges and was detained overnight after his house was raided without any court-authorised search warrant.
“Top government officials are being harassed and intimidated. More than 60 Accord leaders have been arrested and moved to Abuja, where they are being held in Abuja and Nasarawa State prisons, including an Accord candidate for the House of Representatives, Hon Alaba.
“This is supposed to be a democracy, where the police uphold the rule of law. Under which law can a state police commissioner take instructions from Mr Gboyega Oyetola to arrest Accord Party members in Osun State and move them to Abuja and be held in prisons without any charge?
“Why Abuja? We have both the Federal High Court and State High Courts in Osun State, where anyone can be arraigned.
“On behalf of Osun State and for the sake of the rule of law, I ask the Peace Committee to prevail upon the Inspector General of Police to return everyone in police custody. Those remanded in prisons should be returned to Osun State and be charged in courts in Osun State if the police can show that they have committed any crime.
“Just a few days ago, the leader of APC thugs who was actively fingered in all the attacks was helped by the police to take over garages and motor parks across Osun.
“There is an active plot to kill and maim Osun people before, during and after Osun elections. Our dear peace leaders, there is an active progression towards genocide in Osun State.
“We seek that you interface with Mr President to stop the Marine Minister, Gboyega Oyetola, the Osun APC and the Osun Police Commissioner from unleashing further violence on Osun people.
We seek an immediate end to the police’s unholy alliance with APC thugs and the Osun APC.
“We call on the police authorities to emulate other security agencies that have been very professional. Police must be impartial like other security agencies.
“We seek free and fair polls where people’s will should be supreme.
“Our people will severely resist rigging in all forms. So far, we have refused to retaliate. My people have not resorted to self-help. This is not out of weakness but due to our firm belief in the rule of law. We are committed to peace, but we are presently having a peace of the graveyard.
We are ready for August 15, and the people of Osun are ready to vote. Our request is for impartial policing, a fair and just electoral commission and supremacy of voters’ will at the polls.
“I thank you for your intervention and peace drive.”
H.E. ADEMOLA ADELEKE,
EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR OF OSUN STATE
JULY 30th, 2026.
No Comment! Be the first one.